Directions

Two Mondays ago I bought some goods from Habitat in central Kingston, and waited for them to be delivered to the shop, so I could return and pick them up from their collection point. I thought, 'no problem,' with my satnav, it'll be a piece of cake; how wrong that assumption was. It was dead-end after dead-end!

The directions the store gave me were confusing because people are not clear; their thinking is muddled. They assume knowledge that we don't have because they are used to the route they daily take which is easy, once travelled. Finally in desperation, having spent nearly an hour driving around Kingston, I rang an adjacent store and asked for directions as they both shared the same drive. An assistant came on the phone and gave what he thought were clear instructions, which included the comment,

"come round the ring road, keep in the central lane and then keep right, pass the telephone boxes and turn left, keeping the boxes on your right."

I followed the road and found that the roadway in front of the boxes was sealed by railings, and there was no road access, so I was stumped again. I rang the store once more in my frustration and asked how these directions could be correct. I repeated what I had been told and the man [a different one] saw the mistake. The first guy should have said "come round the ring road in the centre lane; then move over to the left lane and opposite the Phone box sculpture, on your right, turn left." That made sense, and next time round the ring road I made the left turn which was correct! I am now an expert in reaching Habitat collection point.

When asking for directions I usually pin people down [not physically of course] and demand exact details. It's amazing how few people know how many traffic lights there are in their road, that's if they have any, and many have, certainly enroute to the destination. As I cross-question their information, they begin to stutter and they realise they don't really know any landmarks on which to pin their route. They are conversant with how they get home, but cannot articulate that to anyone else with any clarity.

When preaching I use PowerPoint slides, welcomed by many but irritating to a few. I have to ensure that the directions I give you are clear, based on vantage points that can be easily seen and recognised. Therefore, I write out my sermon, and transfer it to the slides, having done that, leave it alone for about two hours and then go back and re-read it to see if its clear. Lastly, 6 hours before preaching, I read it again several times, and make alterations, if necessary, to ensure that those who read and hear are not confused.

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